Life is Strange: The Other Perspective Episode 5: The eye of the Storm
by Sketchman911
Summary: it has gone from bad to worse. But James Makintosh still lives. But can he stop the Dark Room from claiming yet another victim? Can he save his home? The Other Perspective ends here. At the Eye of the Storm Life is Strange owned by Square Enix/DONTNOD This story is owned by me Credit to WickDaLine for the inspiration
1. Chapter 1: What doesn't kill you

**American Rust, Arcadia Bay Oregon, October 11th, 2013, 8:37 AM**

James opened his eyes and let out a gasp as he finally awoke. He stared up at the sky which was dark grey in color, the rain falling down in sheets was cold and relentless against his face as it soaked his whole body, the wind howled as it tossed his hair around his face. He let out a sputtering cough as he tied to remove the rainwater that had accumulated in his mouth, he took a second to gather his surroundings when it hit him. Everything that had happened the previous night was real.

Caulfield was nowhere to be seen, his head ached with dulled pain, and when he wiped his nose from something dripping down from it, the entire side of his right pointer finger became stained with crimson blood. And when he looked to his right he noticed the lifeless body of Chloe Price sprawled out on the ground. James got up and walked over to her body " _This isn't real_ " James kept telling himself over and over in his head, he examined the body.

Her eyes had already glazed over, devoid of the life that used to fill them, there was a bullet hole in the center of her forehead. A small trickle of blood streamed down the side of her head, pooling with the rest of the splatter on the ground.

James knew he needed to get out of there and fast, Caulfield was more than likely in danger and he would be dammed if he was going to let Jefferson do to her what he had done to so many others inside that bunker, James shook his head " _I'll need her keys, that gun, and any spare bullets she has on her_ " he thought to himself.

He didn't like the idea of having to loot the body of one of his former friends but it was necessary. He meticulously searched around her pockets, starting with her black leather jacket and onto searching through her jean pockets, even having to move her over onto her left side to check the back.

His search had been somewhat successful, as not only did he find the keys to her truck, but also three spare bullets inside her coat. Finally concluding his business he moved her hands together and gingerly lifted her up, slowly placing her body back onto the ground next to Rachel's grave, he searched for a minute to find something to cover her with, settling with a blue tarp thrown over some old motorcycle. He grabbed it and placed it over both Price, and the makeshift grave next to her. Standing in silence for about a minute overlooking the small memorial he threw together he finally nodded and walked over to where Chloe had discarded Nathan's handgun when she was shot. He grabbed the firearm, and checked to see if it was still operational, and more importantly. Loaded. "I'll make sure that son of a bitch pays for what he did..." James said turning his head one last time to look over at the tarp. Then he set off for Price's truck.

As soon as he approached the vehicle's doors he pulled out the keys and placed them inside the lock, turning it until he heard a loud click, then he opened the door and climbed inside the driver's side of the cabin, pulling the door shut James took a second to breathe. It was the first time since he woke up that he wasn't out in the pouring rain, and he had become increasingly aware of how cold he actually was.

He also became more aware of the constant, unending assault of the rain outside the truck. The rain came down so much that it formed a sheet over the windshield making it impossible to see. James also became aware of how dire the situation was becoming. Judging by how well their last encounter with Jefferson went, with all three of them being ambushed simultaneously James knew it would be suicide to face Jefferson alone, he needed help. but from whom? James checked his pockets until he managed to find his own phone on him. Thankfully Jefferson hadn't taken the liberty to rob him while he was out.

He unlocked the device and realized he had several messages from multiple people, like his roommate, some of his classmates at Blackwell, and also his mother. James also became aware of the time, it was still early in the morning judging by what his phone's clock told him, meaning he had been out for hours. James opened up the contacts list on the device and searched for any name that he thought would have been a good idea to call, when he found it, ' ** _D. Madsen_** '

James wouldn't have normally asked for his help given that Madsen was always a hindrance to his work. But he had also learned that the Blackwell Security Guard had been close to this case as well. And frankly, James needed some kind of adult to help him with this situation, he pressed the contact name and confirmed the option to initiate a phone call.

It took a second for the line to be picked up "David Madsen, head of Blackwell Academy security, who am I speaking to?" Madsen asked on the other end

"David, It's James Makintosh. Listen to me, I need your help" James said quickly trying to make his message clear before David could hang up "We found out what happened to Rachel Amber and who was responsible, but he ambushed us and Miss Caulfield is missing" James was not one to panic, but that fear of what could have been happening to her right now was making him act all the more urgently

"What are you talking about? Who's responsible?" David asked, confused to the young man's phone call

"It Mark Jefferson, he's in cahoots with Nathan, they killed Rachel and they own this... Fucked up studio in an old barn off of Pope Road" James said frantically

"Alright calm down son, I'll make a call to the Police, if you think this is some kind of emergency you ought to be with 911 right no-" David spoke calmly but was cut off

"I can't David!, you need to trust me on this! That bastard Jefferson kidnapped Caulfield, they're probably there right now, If you don't help me he's gonna kill her!" James raised his voice, trying to convey the severity of the situation to the man.

"Fine, I'll meet you outside of the campus. Drive safely young man. The roads are hell right now with this storm going on.." David sighed before the line went dead. James sighed in relief at the fact Madsen would help him. He put the key inside the ignition and turning it. It took a couple of times for the truck to start properly, James even hitting the dashboard a couple of times in frustration, but eventually it did, James then set the windshield wipers to their highest setting so he could have clear visibility before pressing his foot onto the gas peddle and driving off away from the Junkyard.


	2. Chapter 2: The road to war

**Blackwell Academy, Arcadia Bay Oregon, October 11th, 2013, 8:52 AM**

James had a difficult time navigating the roads, with the downpour of rain causing some flooding, and the debris from random cars, power lines, and god knows what. It made trying to get to Blackwell a chore. He finally arrived at the front of the school. Much to his relief, David was already waiting outside. He was wearing what he probably would have considered 'Civilian Clothing', a grey polo with black slacks. Madsen walked up to the Driver side of the car, James rolled down the window so that they could talk.

"Alright James, what is going on and why are you driving my Step-Daughter's tru-" David stopped mid-sentence upon looking at James, James hadn't bothered to look at himself since he left but judging by the way Madsen reacted James must have looked awful, but he didn't care about his appearance at all, He was simply focused on stopping Jefferson.

Madsen got into the passenger seat and closed the door, James rolled up his window and he pressed his foot to the gas peddle again, the truck got about halfway down the road from the campus before the engine stalled and died,

"fuckfuckfuckfuck FUCK!" James yelled as he punched the steering wheel to release some of his frustration

"Calm it down!. My car is in the parking lot" Madsen rested a hand on his shoulder before getting out of the car. James followed after him cutting across the soaked grass towards Madsen's old 1969 Ford Mustang. David opened the driver's side door and sat inside, hurriedly closing the door as to not allow the rain to soak the interior of the car, James jumping into the passenger seat and doing the same with his door.

David placed his keys into the ignition to start the engine, once it was on the car made it's way out of the campus parking lot and onto the main road, leaving Chloe's truck behind.

* * *

 **Pope Rd, Arcadia Bay Oregon, October 11th, 2013, 9:23 AM**

Pope road was just as bad as the rest of the roads into town, but as they got farther out they began to somewhat clear up. James looked around the car anxiously hoping they would get there in time

"So you mind telling me just exactly what in the sam hill happened to you?" Madsen asked looking over at the young man sitting in his passenger seat

"As I said on the phone, We found out what happened to Rachel Amber," James said flatly

"And how exactly did you, a hipster girl obsessed with her camera, and my Step-Daughter do what actual police couldn't for the better part of a year?" David asked

"I think you of all people should know that when I get involved with something like this, I'm gonna find out one way or another. We went through hell and back to find out what we did, finding Rachel's body, discovering Jefferson's... Whatever the hell he has down there, and building up enough evidence to put Nathan Prescott behind bars for a good long fucking while" James explained "And now we paid the price for it..." he shook his head

"He used Nathan as bait, said he was gonna destroy the evidence we had at the junkyard, we showed up and the son of bitch ambushed us. He drugged Max, smashed me across the face with a gun and..." James trailed off, he didn't have the heart to tell David what happened to his adopted daughter. Despite all the issues James had with the Blackwell Security Guard he could tell he was a good man, or at least tried to be, and James couldn't completely hate the man, after everything he had gone through, joining a broken family to try and replace someone he couldn't, not to mention his time in the military which only reminded James of _him_ all the more. But Makintosh couldn't shake this overwhelming feeling of dread as they got closer and closer to the abandoned barn.

"Listen, David, before we get to that barn I wanted to say, thanks for believing me enough to come out here, and that If anything happens. I wanted to let you know that I have nothing but respect for you" James began "even when we had to clash heads, Like when Kate..." Madsen shook his head

"It's alright son, I understand. You were trying to do what you felt was right back there. We both should have been going up to that roof" Madsen paused and looked at the young man before looking back out at the road "You remind me of someone I knew back in the service. He was actually from around here I think, always had a big warm smile. Always tried to do the right thing, even if it got him into trouble" David began "I didn't know him all that well, but we knew each other well enough that I knew he'd stick his neck out for me if anything ever happened"

"Yeah, I knew him too..." James said under his breath "He was my father..." He finally said almost as quickly as pulling a band-aid off "I'm sure you already know what happened to him..." James said coldly recalling back to that day when the world took his light away.

"He was a good man, I'll let you know that, a good man. Right up to the end." David tried to comfort the young man who didn't want to think back to what had happened to him. James simply nodded his head and the rest of the ride remained silent.

Finally, they had reached the stretch of road that led to led to where they needed to go, James pointed and instructed David where to go and which way to finally reach the abandoned barn.

and inside that, was the darkroom.

Where **_he_** would be waiting for them.


	3. Chapter 3: The end of the Dark Room

**Abandoned Barn, Arcadia Bay Oregon, October 11th, 2013, 9:26 AM**

the two stepped out of the car and towards the entrance of the barn. James led Madsen to the entrance Max had made for them the day prior, yet to him felt like a lifetime ago, inside Jefferson's car was parked just in front of the main doors, the hatch leading to his bunker was completely uncovered and surprisingly unlocked, the two tried their best to walk over to it as quietly as they could as James was too paranoid the sound of their footfalls would alert the teacher to their presence.

James lifted the hatch door as quietly as he could when it became clear the young man couldn't do it entirely by himself, the former soldier aided and set the door down onto the hay covered floor silently. They crept down the concrete stairs and down the hall towards the door, "Jesus, only a Prescott would be able to afford something that secure" Madsen muttered under breath seemingly confirming some suspicion he had, James punched in the code he had memorized and carefully slid the door open. The two walked through the door towards and into the entrance room to Jefferson's bunker.

James felt Nathan's gun still pressed against him in his jeans pocket, he had a thought enter his mind, he knew that being armed was the best thing to be in the situation, and should Jefferson get the drop on Madsen like he had with the three of them the night before James could at least have a weapon to defend himself with, but he wasn't experienced in shooting a firearm, he had only been hunting with his grandfather a couple of times when he spent the winter with them up in Massachusetts, and he had never fired a gun on a human being no less

Perhaps giving the gun to David, a man more trained in handling the weapon, and who had been desensitized to death enough during combat would be better. But what if David were to get killed by Jefferson then James would be have nothing.

 **{CHOICE}**

 **{GIVE GUN TO DAVID/KEEP GUN}**

"David" James whispered to catch the older man's attention

"What is it, son?" Madsen asked back in an equally hushed tone

"Take this, I found it on Nathan yesterday, been keeping it since." James finally produced the gun to David, positioning the weapon in his hand in order to give it to him "You're better off with it than I would" James nodded,

David shook his head and took the weapon "I should have believed Well's when he told me Max told him Nathan had a gun Monday" he said to himself, Now armed David decided to take the lead, walking towards the back of the bunker telling James to stay behind in case anything happened.

Just as David walked out into the main room of the bunker a camera tripod hit him across the chest forcing him to drop the gun onto the ground, David quickly recovered getting into a fighting stance as Jefferson revealed himself holding the tripod, David threw a right hook but missed however Jefferson managed to ram the tripod into Madsen's stomach, knocking him off balance.

James realized David was loosing and decided to grab the closest object he could as a weapon settling on a fluorescent light bulb still in its packaging, he rapidly ripped the light bar from its confines and held it upwards like a baton. Jefferson walked over and threw a left hook into David's temple, causing the man to fall over unconsciousness

"No, David! No!" Max cried out in a distressed tone although James could not actually see her,

" _Shit! David! there goes my backup_ " James thought to himself as he edged his way further into the bunker while making sure to not alert the teacher

"Jesus... David Madsen! He's out cold... Good. I always hated that fascist fuck. Everybody at Blackwell did, right, Max?" Jefferson said aggravated that his 'work' had been interrupted before walking off into the studio part of the bunker. When Jefferson turned his back he muttered something under his breath, with his back turned James ran out from his hiding spot letting out a yell as he ran towards the teacher ready to smash his weapon over his head and hopefully daze his former educator enough to allow him to knock him unconscious before he could retaliate, just as he dashed from his cover Max unbeknownst to him decided to rewind before watching another one of her rescuers fall before her

* * *

As David walked into the main room of the bunker he noticed Jefferson was still huddled over Max, who had been duct-taped to a chair and hadn't noticed him yet, Madsen wasn't looking where he had been stepping and must have knocked into something causing Jefferson to look over and pick up a camera tripod.

Jefferson approached David ready to deal with the Blackwell Security Guard as swiftly as possible but a trolley he had near Caulfield moved away from her, causing him to be distracted long enough for Madsen to punch him and knock the tripod out of his hand, in their struggle David had lost the gun and James observed the fight as best as he could from his position, deciding to grab a nearby fluorescent light bar as a weapon to defend himself

"No gun...no balls..." Jefferson taunted

"Jefferson! It's over!" David called out in response

"You are not going to stop me!" Jefferson said so sure of his success. Just then one of his studio lights fell over causing him to look over at it, allowing Madsen enough time to throw a right hook into his face. The force of the blow was enough to knock his glasses off of his face, no longer allowing him the ability to see

James quickly ran over to the two ready to deal the final blow "Lights out motherfucker!" he yelled as he cracked the light bar of the top of Mark's head and punching him to finally knock him out.

With the threat of Mark Jefferson dealt with David rushed over to Max to undo her restraints while James looked down at the 'respected' teacher, the man that had hurt so many people that he knew, the man who had killed one of his friends, James remembered what he had promised back at the junkyard and he had finally achieved it yet he could still feel that cold fury "If you ever hurt my friends again... I'll put you in the fucking ground!" James spoke in the iciest tone he had ever used before in his entire life, he would have loved nothing more than to snuff the monster of its life But he knew allowing him to be put behind bars for the remainder of his days was a far more satisfying punishment.

"Oh, Lord, Max...are you okay? Are you alright? Can you move?" David asked with concern for the girl's well being

"Yes... Thank you, David...thank you..." Caulfield said relieved to have survived the ordeal she went through

"Don't thank me... he brought me here." David shook his head and pointed to James, who had stopped looking at Jefferson and over to them, just then Jefferson moved his head indicating he was perhaps beginning to wake up, James angrily kicked the man in the stomach to keep him down causing him to groan loudly

"Let's wrap up this son of a bitch first." David said walking over to deal with Jefferson as well, he picked up Nathan's handgun and holstered it before grabbing a roll of duct tape and using it to secure his wrists tightly. "He won't be going anywhere when he wakes up." David commented

"Except to prison. Or worse." James said in response, secretly he was hoping Jefferson received the latter.

James and David made sure that Jefferson was secure and ready to be brought into police custody while Max searched through her belongings, her journal was unfortunately burned by the former teacher, she grabbed her phone and tried to make a call only to find she had no signal, lastly she found Jefferson's car keys on the tray and decided to take them with her. She approached the two

"David?" she asked, "you two okay?" "I've been better" James shook his head as he tried to wipe some of the dried blood from his nose

"Look at this place...it feels like hell." Madsen commented looking around the room

"Jefferson was going to kill me... You got here just in time." Max looked away reflecting and perhaps trying to process what she had been through

"Fuckers' first mistake was leaving me alive..." James commented

"I'm glad... I always suspected that son of a bitch." David nodded

"We never did...until it was too late." Caulfield shook her head, mentally kicking herself for the mistake that almost cost her her life

"You shouldn't have to suspect your teacher." Madsen tried to comfort the girl

"He wasn't a real teacher..." James replied looking at the unconscious man "He just wanted to lecture and find easy victims. It was a part of his sick plan. He was always a fucking snake, I just wished I had realized it earlier..."

he thought back to that day in the hallway, he hadn't realized it then but James had unknowingly sent Kate to the man who had abducted her, and that fact in hindsight made him hate himself all the more.

"He wasn't alone, Nathan was his partner, or his. Fucked up protege in all of this as well" James reported with a bitter tone

"I wasn't surprised when you accused Nathan of drugging Kate Marsh. I thought so, too." David shook his head thinking back to what James had said that day in the principle's office "I treated Kate like shit... I know she's a good person, but I'm not. I hope I get to tell her that soon." he admitted to himself

"I'm sure she'd forgive you. It'd be the Christian thing to do..." James said trying to sympathize with the security guard

"I knew Nathan Prescott was a threat. I just waited too long to neutralize him." David crossed his arms

"Jefferson already did. Nathan killed Rachel, and Jefferson had to use him as a scapegoat." Max replied

"That pervert was pulling all this shit right under my nose, too... I could've stopped him and Nathan if only...I wasn't so stupid." David criticized

"No... I told Principal Wells Nathan had a gun and...almost used it. But he didn't wanna believe me. I should've been more loud." Caulfield thought back to the encounter in the bathroom back into Monday

"I should have marched his ass down to the authorities yesterday when he pulled out that gun I had witnessed with me" James shook his head

"We all make decisions we regret. But I have to admit, I'm impressed by you both...and Chloe, and your investigation. I had all the high-tech toys, while you had each other." Madsen said, amazed how three young adults with barely any resources could do what he couldn't and do more

"We...we are a great team." Max smiled and looked over at James, who nodded in response

"That's one of my problems..." Madsen sighed "I'm not good at teamwork. Never was. Even in the service."

"I'm not good with it either. I just thought people were a nuisance, getting in the way. But this week made me realize. You can't do everything on your own..." James did some reflecting. After his father's death, he disconnected himself from the world around him, opting to live in deliberate isolation, but he thought back to something he had said earlier then " _If you ever hurt my friends again..._ " Friends. That was a word he had struck out of vocabulary for over ten years, but he realized that people like Caulfield, Price, Marsh, even people like Warren or Alex, were people he was willing to fight for and help, not out of some code he had set out for himself. But because they were _friends_ , good friends even. He was just too stubborn and disconnected from reality to admit it until now.

"I'm not gonna make any excuses for my behavior. I tried to be a good soldier, but...I wasn't so great. I tried to be a good father, too..." David shook his head, admitting all of his failures "But...when Joyce kicked me out...I had nothing." "

I'm so sorry about that... I didn't want that to happen..." Caulfield apologized for getting Madsen getting kicked out of the Price residence earlier in the week.

"I should never have set up those surveillance cams. Or kept all those files..." David said in a voice full of regret

"For what it's worth David, Those files were one the only reasons we found this place, take some solace in that" James tried to offer reassurance to the man

"I try not to use my service as an excuse, but... It's hard to come home after war." David said reflecting back on the days after he came back from the service "Most people don't know or care what it's like...except Joyce. She gave me hope. A new life."

"And you saved mine. Chloe, she...she would be proud of you" Max smiled

"I just wanna see her safe with her mother. I promised Joyce I would go see a family counselor...and I'll start by apologizing to Chloe. I don't expect her to call me dad, but maybe she'll stop calling me "step-douche". So, where is Chloe?" Madsen asked.

Max and James looked down at the floor unable to speak. Max remembered what had happened last night and realized that David was unaware of his Step-Daughter's death. James mentally scolded himself for not telling the truth to David right away, perhaps he figured Madsen would have gotten the idea when James showed up with a bloody nose and a frantic look in his eyes as he showed up in her truck, or perhaps he was in mourning and didn't have enough heart to tell the man.

"David..." James started hesitantly trying to find a way to break the news to the former soldier

"David... Chloe is... Dead..." Caulfield finished James' thought for him

"This isn't happening... It can't... No, God..." Madsen began to break down with the realization that his daughter was taken from him "Not Chloe... Max, James. Are you sure? Are you..." he was so beside himself with grief he could barely get through a sentence. With the emotions rising and the event playing over in her head, Max also began to weep, the only person who wasn't crying was James Makintosh. For he had lost the ability to cry long ago

"I'm... Sorry, David, I should have told you sooner. Chloe she-" James struggled to find words "Jefferson put a bullet right into her forehead. The poor girl, she didn't get a chance to react... I.. put her next to Rachel's grave and threw a tarp over her..." he finally allowed the information to come out, hoping the fact that she was at least given a form of burial would help ease the pain.

"Last night?" David asked distraught "When I was feeling sorry for myself in my hotel room...?" James nodded in response. "I promised Joyce that I would protect her and Chloe... How can I face her and explain this?" Madsen finally broke down "I never even told Chloe that I...I... Goddamn it!" He looked over at the unconscious man on the floor next to them and James could see a rage build up in David's tear stained eyes, it was a similar rage that James himself had experienced earlier on the way to the Dark Room "You killed my wife's child, you sick fucker?! You took away my stepdaughter?!" Madsen angrily asked the sleeping teacher before pulling out the gun James had handed him earlier and pointing it at his skull

"David, wait NO!" James called out, but it was too late. A single shot rang out inside the sterile bunker and Mark Jefferson was dead, there was an odd peacefulness on the man's face as the blood began to puddle around his head on the clean floor.

David looked away from the body as he reholstered the pistol. An eerie silence filled the room afterward,

"So that's it huh?" James said as the lit inside him lit once more "This fucker's dead? without facing justice?! Fine! death's too good for the son of a bitch anyways" James kicked the body harder than he had when he was alive, causing some blood to splatter across the floor

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry you two had to see that. What a mess... What have I done?" Madsen said clearly already showing remorse for his action "All that time I wasted with surveillance... I... Chloe...I'm sorry... Joyce...I failed you... My family..." David began to sob again thinking about the family he failed to protect, Max walked over to him

"You didn't fail... you tried your best" she said trying to comfort him

"James... Max...you better get outside. You've seen enough of this room" Madsen said as he looked at the floor, unable to make eye contact

"David...thank you, for saving me." Max smiled before turning around and heading towards the entrance of the Dark Room, James following behind her. David slumped onto the floor hanging his head in his hands

As they walked out James came close next to Caulfield "It's your call, if you're gonna rewind that to keep that prick alive long enough to see a prison cell thats fine by me" before walking ahead of her out of the Dark Room, Max paused for a second and then outstretched her right arm to initiate a rewind

* * *

"I just wanna see her safe with her mother. I promised Joyce I would go see a family counselor...and I'll start by apologizing to Chloe. I don't expect her to call me dad, but maybe she'll stop calling me "step-douche". So, where is Chloe?" Madsen asked.

Max and James looked down at the floor unable to speak. Max remembered what had happened last night and realized that David was unaware of his Step-Daughter's death. James mentally scolded himself for not telling the truth to David right away, perhaps he figured Madsen would have gotten the idea when James showed up with a bloody nose and a frantic look in his eyes as he showed up in her truck, or perhaps he was in mourning and didn't have enough heart to tell the man.

"David..." James started hesitantly trying to find a way to break the news to the former soldier

"David, um... She was pretty stressed out, so, um... She went to go, um...medicate before I ended up in here. So, she's okay." Max said quickly, James looked over at her and realized that she wasn't going to tell David the truth, he quickly turned back to look at David

"Yeah, finding Rachel was a little much for her. she... uh, ran off to lighthouse or something, didn't really tell us, but said specifically she wanted to be left alone for a while" James added to keep up the lie

"Oh, thank god. For once I'm happy Chloe's a stoner." Madsen smiled relieved and let out a chuckle, James nodded in response.

"David, I have to go outside and get some real air...and use my phone." Max said looking towards the entrance

"Yeah, I could really use a second to clear my head" James added again trying to wipe the blood off of his upper lip.

David rested a hand on both of their shoulders

"Of course. Go on. You're brave soldiers, both of you. I'm glad Chloe best friends like you. Go on, now. You two have seen enough of this room." They both nodded and walked towards the entrance while David turned around to check through the computer.

As they walked out James came close next to Caulfield "Lying to David like that, I dunno, feels wrong. It's your call, if you're gonna rewind that and let him know what really happened thats fine by me" before walking ahead of her out of the Dark Room, Max paused for a second and then followed behind him


	4. Chapter 4: Into the Vortex

**Abandoned Barn, Arcadia Bay Oregon, October 11th, 2013, 9:33 AM**

The two walked through the opened hatch and into the barn proper, outside the rain fell even harder now, the wind blowing it into the barn and soaking parts of the hay covered floor "Holy shit! The storm is real. I need to find Warren..." Max said in a panic at the sight before pulling out her cellphone before dialing Graham's number.

James walked away to give her some silence to make her call, instead of walking out of the barn through their makeshift entrance from yesterday. He pulled out his phone and went to his contact list dialing Alex's number. it took a couple of seconds for him to pick up, causing James to worry if he couldn't make any call during this storm. When Alex answered the call his end was almost inaudible due to the static " _James where th- are you?_ " Alex asked

"Alex, I'm fine, don't worry about me" James started "where the hell are you right now?"

" _I'm at -wo Whales Din- Why?_ " James could barely make out the sentence

"The Dinner? alright, stay there and don't move. This storm is bad, real bad. I'm sure the road from Blackwell to there was hell. I'll head over there as soon as I can" James instructed his roommate

" _The hell you are Sher- the roads ARE hell and this thing looks like it's getting worse, War-en just said he's expecting the ocean to turn red! just stay whe-ver you are and wait for this thi- to blow over_ " Alex said through all the white noise

"Not gonna happen, I'm heading over there with Max and I'm going to make sure you're all safe" James shook his head which caused some rain to fall from his soaked head

" _James! wai-_ " Alex started but then James ended the call heading back inside

"Any luck reaching Warren?" James asked Caulfield

"Yes, he's at the Diner, we're heading there now." Max said before unlocking Jefferson's car and getting in the driver's seat, James nodded and got into the passenger seat and the car drove off away from the Barn.

* * *

 **Pope Road, Arcadia Bay Oregon, October 11th, 2013, 9:38 AM**

The two sat in the car quietly navigating the roads as best as they could, James occasionally giving Caulfield a direction to go for a quicker route, the entire time rain slammed against the windshield, the wipers doing their best to clear the screen of the liquid curtain. Jefferson had left the radio on and now it was tuned to some evangelist's talk show "I told you. I, Truss Limpbow, have been warning you people for years that our culture of sin and entitlement would lead to God striking us down! And I'm the one trapped in this fucking radio station. Somebody get me the hell out of here now! Now, goddamn it! What do I pay all those taxes for?" James shut it off mainly because it annoyed him

"If I wanted to hear that shit, I'd go to church right now... " he muttered to himself. Max's phone buzzed and James picked it up as to not distract the driver. he clicked on the notification, an automated message started talking, James set the phone to speaker mode so both people could hear

" ** _You have one new message. Message received yesterday at 9 PM._** " The robotic voice said before a different, more familiar voice started speaking

" _Max, it's...it's Nathan._ " Nathan Prescott sounded different, James was used to hearing the young man make threats and yell at the top of his lungs, here he sounded like he was choking back tears and most uncharacteristically for Nathan. He sounded scared " _I...I just wanted to say...I'm sorry. I didn't wanna hurt Kate, or Rachel, or—or...didn't wanna hurt anybody. Everybody...used me_!" Nathan's voice then broke down into sobs between words " _Mr. Jefferson...is coming for ME now. All this shit will be over soon. Watch out, Max... Warn James. He wants to hurt you guys next. Sorry._ " Then the message cut out.

The silence that filled the car was deafening, James was a loss for words. He had heard the last words of a young man he had spent so much of the week ready to fight with, a young man that he had detested for so long, a young man that represented everything James was not. And now he couldn't help but feel pity for him, he thought back to the last words he ever exchanged with him

" _If you don't change the way you go about life, you are going to end up in a shallow fucking grave with nary a soul to say a eulogy for you"_

James wished he had realized it at the time, but he was unaware that would be the last time he would see Nathan Prescott alive ever again. And he also realized that all those messages he had received afterward wasn't from Nathan, but the twisted puppet master behind him.

* * *

 **Arcadia Bay Oregon, October 11th, 2013, 9:41 AM**

The car came to a halt close to the Diner, there was debris literally blocking the road down many people were running wildly attempting to find shelter and protect loved ones. James was horrified at the sight, he had never seen anything this bad, and it was happening right in his own town

"Dear God..." he said under his breath

"I don't want to die here! Please somebody... anybody... Help me! Hey... is anybody out there?" someone called out, both students turned around looking seeing a man trapped under some debris. James rushed over with Caulfield behind him, the young man lifted the rubble with almost inhuman strength while Max hooked her hands under the man's shoulders and trying to pull him out. Once his legs were mostly free, James let go of the debris exhausted and drained of the adrenaline he had seconds ago, "

Oh Lordy... Thanks." The man said between breaths relieved to have been saved

You alright?" James asked

"Will be, Once I get the hell out of here..." the man responded "I been hauling loads for way too long in this shithole town." he muttered under his breath

"Right, we need to go." James looked over to Max "You should go too" he then turned forward to face the man

"I ain't never coming back here... You two need a lift?" the man asked shaking his head

"No, we have to find some friends" Max shook her head, Caulfield then turned around to head off towards the Diner. James did the same giving the man his signature two-fingered salute before turning around to follow.

"Right into the eye of the storm!" Evan Harris took as many pictures of this storm as could, completely enraptured by the force of nature out near the coast, not even noticing the piece of rubble from a nearby building collapsing over him, the last thing he heard was the sound of James Makintosh's voice yelling out to him, before it completely slammed into him.

"Evan! God dammit NO!" James called out just as the debris struck the young man "Caulfield, rewind. I'm not letting anyone here die today!" the turned over to his partner giving an order, Max nodded and proceeded to do as instructed

* * *

Max ran over to Harris with James followed closely right behind her "Evan, do you see that tornado? Get the hell out of here!" She said warning the young man

"There's no way I can pass up these images! Just look at it!" Evan shook his head gesturing to the tornado out by the coast

"You can't take a picture when you're dead! Now move your ass!" James yelled out attempting to try and get through to him

"Okay, if you two insist" Evan said moving closer to the two right as a piece of a nearby building collapsed and fell right here he was once standing

"Whoa, Max! You do know things! I'm such an idiot." Evan said starring at the debris

"Yes. You are. Now get the fuck out of here and find shelter" James said pointing behind him

"Now I better listen to the real 'Everyday Heros' ... Come with me!" Evan nodded

"We have to check up on people, just get the hell out of here!" James said again pointing behind him, Evan shook his head and ran off for any nearby shelter. With another life saved the two of them began heading towards the Diner again.

"Somebody help me!" someone called out, the call caught both of the Blackwell students attention

"Was that Alyssa?" James asked looking around before triangulating the voice's location, rushing over to what was a few days ago an ongoing construction that had been recently finished, the second floor of the house was completely exposed with many of the walls having collapsed into debris with Alyssa Anderson standing solitary by the edge

"Alyssa, are you okay? Let me help you down!" Max called out walking towards the ruin

"Yes, yes, please! I don't want to die like this! Find something to get me down!" She said with a slight quaver in her voice. James looked around searching for anything to use as a way to bring her down to solid ground, finding a plank of bare wood left over from the construction and grabbing it

"Caulfield! help me lift this!" he called out to his partner. Max rushed over, aiding in lifting the board over to the building and lifting it up to the exposed second landing. Alyssa walked slowly over and extended out her hand to be able to get fully back onto the ground "Come on! Take my hand!" James called out reaching out his hand to meet hers. Their digits met and James pulled back to bring her closer to him

"You did it!" Alyssa said giving Makintosh a massive bear hug that crushed him

"Are you okay?" Max asked

"Now I am! We need to get out of here!" Alyssa nodded letting James go and allow him to correct the knot formed in his back

"Alyssa, you get as far out of town as you can, find a damn car. We have to help other people" James said looking back behind himself.

James was going to say something else but the sound of buckling steel caught his attention and he turned to find a billboard had begun to collapse "Oh SHIT!" James yelled out

"Watch out!" Alyssa said pulling both Caulfield and Makintosh back, just a few feet from where the billboard landed. If he had not been moved, James would have likely been crushed to death, He took a second to catch his breath

"Fuck me that was close... Thank you.." James said turning around to the rescuee turned rescuer

"Now we're even Max. You two be careful out there!" Alyssa smiled before running off down the street. James looked over to Max, wondering what that last comment was about

"Something I should know about?" He asked

"Long story, no time!" Caulfield shook her head before heading through another ruined building,

"Fair enough! " Makintosh shrugged and ran off after her.

Entering inside, the two saw one of the towns local fishermen trapped on the other side of the building by flames, Max rushed over to a nearby fuse box, turning it on. The power sprung the sprinkler system to life, spraying water over the fire, but also causing a stray wire to short-circuit. The fisherman yelled as sparked shot everywhere, falling to the ground, The two rushed over to the man "He's dead..." James shook his head "Do what you have to do", Caulfield nodded and put her hand out rewinding the scene

* * *

Entering inside, James saw one of the towns local fishermen trapped, alongside Max on the other side of the building by flames, He went for the fuse box but the girl's voice stopped him

"Don't you'll electrocute us!" James froze in his tracks and moved away from the box

"Come on, you have to get out of here right now." Max said to the man, offering him a hand up

"I need to breathe… I… I need air…" The man said to himself, accepting her gesture and allow her to pull him up

"Turn the sprinklers on!" She called out to her partner,

James nodded and headed back to the fuse box and turned it on. The power sprung the sprinkler system to life, spraying water over the fire, but also causing a stray wire to short-circuit, sparks flying where the man was once standing, James walked over, making sure to avoid the live wire "You should get out of here!" James said to the man, he nodded and began running out of the building

"The whole town is dying…" he said as he dashed away. "Diner's just up ahead, C'mon!" Makintosh said climbing through a shattered window.


	5. Chapter 5: The Two Whales Diner

**Arcadia Bay Oregon, October 11th, 2013, 10:01 AM**

The two walked out onto the street, the Neon sign of the Two Whales just up ahead, only abandoned cars and an oil tanker blockaded their path forward. as they began to approach, a spark caused something to ignite, spreading onto spilled oil from the tanker onto the road. Eventually, the inferno reached its way towards the truck and caused it to explode into flames, hitting the diner next to it, the two barely had time to react

* * *

James climbed through the window to find Caulfield already ahead of him, frantically running around doing something, whatever it seemed like it was a matter of concern to her and so he ran over quickly "The hell has you so wild?" he asked over the thundering rain

"That tanker is gonna blow, we need to find a way to stop it now!" Max said quickly pointing at the oil tanker, it didn't take James long to figure out what she was talking about and he joined in the frantic scramble to stop the thing from igniting,

James found a sandbag from an abandoned truck and carried it over to the tanker, noticing he was standing over a huge oil slick _"shit, need something to cut this bag open.."_ James thought to himself looking around, then he looked back to the broken window he crawled out of. He dropped the bag and back over to the window. Pulling a shard of broken glass off, ignoring the pain as the broken peace made a cut in his hand that bled down the clear makeshift blade, he walked back over and used the shard to cut the sandbag open, once a cut was made in the burlap he spread the sand all over the oil as best as he could.

As he was doing this Caulfield had seemingly found a way to prevent anything from igniting. Now that the danger of the fire was averted, the two finally walked their way towards the diner, approaching the storeroom Caulfield tried the handle only to find it locked, James sighed angrily and picked up a rock and bashed it against the knob, breaking it off. James then opened the door

"After you" he motioned to the open room, Caulfield walked in first with her companion following not far behind.

* * *

 **Two Whales Diner, Arcadia Bay Oregon, October 11th 10:13 AM**

The two walked through the door that led into the diner proper, There were people packed inside looking out through the rain-slicked windows "Max! James! Joyce Price exclaimed running over and embracing the two

"Holy shit he actually made it!" James could hear Alex's voice

"Oh Jesus, I am so glad to see you two! Are you okay?" Joyce said with a voice full of worry and relief

"We're be fine. What about you folks?" James shook his head looking around the diner

"The Two Whales is barely standing now... I don't know if it's going to make it through this tornado. Poor Officer Berry and all those people out there..." Joyce said in a dismal tone

"It's bad out there." Max stared out the window

"Okay, get your asses inside... I have to get back to this gentleman on the ground... Warren has been gathering all the first aid..." Joyce hurried them through the door further into the main room

"It's not much, Joyce. But it's all we have." Warren sighed as he looked at all of the supplies he gathered.

While Max went to speak with Warren, James approached Alex, who had been sitting in a booth "Hey..." Makintosh said initiating a conversation

"The fuck happened to you Sherlock? You look awful, more than usual..." Alex said concerned

James finally took in an account of how he must have really looked to the world. Soaking wet, dirty clothes, a broken bloody nose, and now a bleeding cut on his hand. "For once Alex, I have to agree with you" James nodded while trying to wipe some of the blood from his upper lip "Shit went south really bad last night, but I finally did it..."

Alex was confused "Did, what. Exactly?" he asked arching an eyebrow

"I found out what happened to Rachel Amber. and Kate Marsh for that matter" James clarified "It was that fuck Jefferson, he was in cahoots with the Prescotts, or at least Nathan. He kidnaped girls to take weird, perverted photos of them." He went on speaking in a hushed tone

"Jesus, thats fucked up man. I guess you were right all along" Alex slowly realized what his roommate was saying "Oh god, Poor Kate, At that party she wasn't drunk she was..."

"Like you said, I was right from the start..." James finished as to spare Hillsef the burden of the truth "Listen, I don't know what's happening in Arcadia Bay anymore. But you need to get out of this town, before it might be too late." James said in a serious tone

"Whole place is a hell hole." Alex said looking out the window

"It's gonna get worse, find a car and get out. Carpool with someone, I don't know. Just get out of this town before fucking Armageddon comes to the shore" James shook his head. He stood up from the booth "I Came here to check up on everyone here. I'm glad you're all alright." He said to his roommate "I have to head off back out there"

Alex stood up as well "Out there?! James are you fucking nuts?!" he said pointing out the window

"I'll be fine, there are way more people who I need to help." James stood by his position

"I never thought I'd have to say this about you Sherlock, but you're like, my best friend. And I don't want to watch you walk out the door to your death!" Alex pleaded "I am imploring you to stay here until this thing passes!" James silently shook his head and walked away "James! please!" Hillsef called out. But no reply came.

James walked up to Caulfield "I have to head out" James said looking towards the door

"You're crazy, this storm is bad. It's just like my visions" Max shook her head

"No storm is gonna stop James Makintosh" James said, referring to himself in the third person

"James, Max. Why don't you come talk over here" they heard Joyce call out, they complied approached the woman

"Joyce, how are you doing?" Max asked

"Just when I think I've already been through the wringer... Where's Chloe?" The woman shook her head. The two froze in place. Thinking of what to say to her, James knew he couldn't bring himself to tell her that her daughter had been gunned down by a crazed psychopath.

"She's... safe, Joyce. She just sent me a text before my phone died." Max said quickly, James sighed with relief, yet again Max had come to the rescue and saved him the pain of watching both Joyce and David go through that kind of heartbreak

"Oh, thank God... I was torturing myself before you showed up. Oh God, if something happened to Chloe while I ended up stuck at this diner again..." Joyce also sighed in relief

"I'm sorry about all this, Joyce." James looked down

"Don't be, honey. It's not like you whipped up this tornado on your own..."

"I mean about everything, William, Chloe, David" James continued but was cut off

"You don't have control over any of that. David is an adult and he has a lot more age and experience under his belt. Even if he doesn't always show it..." Joyce said

"I'm sorry I caused so many problems with David and Chloe..." Max said sadly joining in

"You did the right thing. David overstepped his bounds. I had a suspicion he was taking his private surveillance way too seriously... But he's sorry and I wish he was here right now." Joyce nodded understandingly

"I just want all our lives to be normal again..." Caulfield said reflecting back

"With all the shit going on this week, I think you're right. And look at me, trying to keep my family together... again. Max... did I make a mistake kicking David out?" Joyce asked. James knew nothing about David being evicted from the Price household other than when Madsen himself said something about it briefly inside the bunker, but it didn't surprise him

"David saved my life... from the storm. I saw how much he cares about Chloe, even if he couldn't show it. David needs you more than ever, and I can see why you love him." Max said smiling

"Yeah, David's good man, even if he is an ass at times." James added, thinking back to the conversation the two men had in the car ride to the barn

"I'm so happy David was there for you. He has a lot of weight on his back from the war, but he truly wants to help people." Joyce smiled warmly, happy and perhaps on some level, proud of Madsen for being a positive force in at least two peoples lives "He even agreed to take a family counseling class."

"I'm sure that was a hard thing for him to do... It shows how much he truly cares about you and Chloe." Max responded kindly

"Nothing would make me happier than for David and Chloe to make peace, not war. But I don't know what to do anymore... I just... I just want this storm to blow over forever. Maybe it's time we leave Arcadia Bay... if we can..." Joyce smiled but it soon dissipated as she looked at the windows

"David's a real hero Joyce. I know all he wants to do is make you happy. he'd do anything for you... and Chloe." James said un an unusual tone of appraisal

"I know. And yes, he's not William, but that's okay. He's not supposed to be. You reminded me of when he came into my life... I was ready to give up. David's love gave me strength. He even told me I was his hero... And I can't give up loving him. I want him to come back home... I hope I get to tell him that soon." Joyce smiled warmly once again

"Right, well. We best be off" James said looking around, realizing he had been wasting time here when he had more pressing matters to attend to. Joyce nodded and walked away

"Do what you have to do Max, and for the love of God. Stay safe" James turned around to face his colleague

"You're the one who needs to stay safe James" Max said. James nodded and began to walk off, walking through the door he had entered through before.

Finally, outside again James missed the dry indoors but made his way back through the maze of ruin he and Caulfield had navigated through before and made his way back to Jefferson's car which had been running the whole time, jumping into the driver's seat. as soon as he shut the door and sealed himself inside the automobile, he put the shift in reverse and drove off on the road again.


	6. Chapter 6: Like Father, Like Son

**531 Westwood Drive Arcadia Bay Oregon, October 11th, 2013 10:30 AM**

James stopped the car just in front of the garage door of his family home, he left the vehicle and approached the front door, opening it and shutting it behind him. He walked into the kitchen where he found his mother sitting at a table with his dog hiding under it, as soon as she saw her son Melissa jumped up and ran over, embracing him tightly

"Oh James, thank god you're alright!" she said in relief, then she got a good look at him "My god, what happened to you?!" She asked concerned, hurrying him over to the table to sit down

"I'm fine mom, honestly" James tried to reassure her

"Bullshit, you've got a broken nose and a cut on your hand. What. Happened" she said asked

"I found out what happened to Rachel Amber and suffered the consequences of it" James finally admitted

"Oh my god, James you had me worried sick, I hadn't heard from you all day yesterday. and I heard on the radio that there's an enormous tornado heading to town I thought you were..." Melissa scolded the boy

"I'm fine mother, really I'm alive aren't I?" James shook his head "I came over to check up on you"

"You don't need to worry about me, but I do need to worry about you son." Melissa explained "You could have gotten yourself killed out there"

James started to stand up but she motioned him to remain seated "I care about you too much to let you get hurt, and dealing with dangerous people like I know you do makes me worried sick for you" as Melissa talked James could see the tears began to roll down her cheeks "It was painful enough learning of your father's death, but I couldn't live with myself if you died. No parent should have to bury their child" she said as her voice began to shake "Don't make me bury you next to him, please!"

James looked down, for the first time truly thinking of the way he had lived his life and wondered what would happen if he died. What would his funeral be like? Would anyone even show up? or had he pushed everyone away? like Nathan had.

"I'm sorry. For everything. I know I haven't been a good son, hell I know that on some level I am not a good man, but I have to do what needs to be done." James shook his head, standing up and walking towards the door

"James? where do you think you're going?" Melissa asked quickly approaching the door

"I have to go back out, I need to make sure other people are safe"

"James Emmerich Makintosh you will not go outside, do you hear me? you will stay here and we will wait for this storm to blow over!" Melissa said in an angry shaky voice "I will not allow you to go back out there!"

"I have to help these people Mom, If I don't then they will die. And I couldn't live with myself if I knew I let that happen" James said in a voice that tried to mimic some kind of emotion

"You'll die out there! Please" the mother pleaded with the child

"I don't care if I die, I haven't in a long while, but I would rather die making sure others are safe. Isn't that what Dad would have done?" James responded shaking his head. He hadn't feared death in many years and only lived to do what his father couldn't do anymore. Help others in their time of need.

 **{CHOICE}**

 **{STAY INSIDE/ ESCAPE}**

James looked at his sobbing mother with the feeling of his heart being torn from his chest "Stay safe here, Don't follow me outside. Just, stay inside and don't come out until this is over" he said sternly "I'll come back, I promise" He looked down to the dog, a creature that had been in his life for over 5 years "Stay Safe Mia, Keep her safe girl." He knelt down and patted the canine on the head

The husky let out a sad howl in response. James looked up one last time as he stood with his hand on the knob to the front door "I'm sorry" he said before turning around and walking out of the door,

As he walked down towards the car he didn't dare look back at the house. Focusing on the mission he had given himself, as he sat down inside the car he formulated a route in his head of the town he considered home _"First I need to head to the hospital and check up on Kate, Then I need to head back to Blackwell and see if anyone is still on Campus, then I'll check back up with Max and rest at the Diner,"_ Fine-tuning many of the details as the put the automobile in reverse, as he backed out of the small driveway he remembered the advice his father had given him so many years ago

 _"Do enough good in the world, and some good will come to you"_


	7. Chapter 7: A warning from the future

**_Swimming Pool, Blackwell Academy, Arcadia Bay Oregon, October 10th, 2013, 8:35 PM_**

"I hope Nathan enjoys his last party" Price said in a cold icy tone

"The prick is gonna get what's coming to him, trust me" James nodded in agreement and speaking in an equally cold tone of voice as the trio sat inside the cabin of Chloe's truck

"Guys, we can go right to the cops. We have proof" Max suggested, thinking it would be best to let the authoritative handle the situation, James wanted to agree with her but his own experiences had to make him think otherwise

"Fuck the Police" Price snapped back quickly "Rachel wanted us to find her. So we could get real justice..."

"And revenge. The Prescotts had this coming to them for years" James added "You don't kidnap girls in my town and get the fuck away with it..."

"Thats, why nobody is going to get in my way" Price, stated boldly,

James was concerned what Price would do as soon as she found Nathan "We need to find the rat bastard and get him to confess, once we do and I record the whole thing. I'll throw him in the pen with the rest of the fucking animals" James spoke aloud how he wanted this to end

"Fuck that James, something like that is too good for a piece of shit like Nathan" Price responded with a hint of contempt for the idea

"Chloe, whatever the hell you're thinking you want to do. It is an awful Idea. We need to gather a spoken confession against him so he can stand trial" James defended his position as fiercely as Chloe wanted to shoot it down. James wasn't an idiot, he knew better than to allow Price to just outright kill Nathan the second she got her hands on him, He wasn't above wanting to kick his ass and make him suffer for what he's done, but he knew cold-blooded murder like Chloe wanted would net them nothing.

While James wasn't looking Price pulled out Nathan's handgun to inspect it and ensure it was in working order, then concealed it before Makintosh could turn his back her way.

Then the three of them stepped out of the truck and onto the blacktop of the parking lot. Everyone spoke in murmured, hushed tones while pointing at the sky. Then Max looked up and gasped "Jesus! Chloe. James. Look up at the sky!" she said in a horrified voice, James crooked his head upwards at the heavens and he too went wide with horror

"What in the fuck is that?!" he gasped at the sight. Up in the night sky were in fact, two moons. One right next to the other in such close proximity it looked like the gravitational pull of both would cause them to collide into one another

"Beautiful, I don't give a shit. The world's ending, cool." Price in a dismissive voice

"I'd take this a little more seriously if I were you Price" James said in a concerned voice, concern for both the fact that there were two literal moons standing in the same night sky, and for Chloe's complete disregard for it

"Yeah, Chloe. Something major is going down." Max said in an equally concerned voice as James

"You're right, Nathan Prescott is going down" Price said before walking off, her two cohorts following quickly behind

as the Trio walked up to the entrance of the Swimming Pool's building James could see Warren Graham standing in front of the entrance holding a red plastic cup in his hand "Welcome to the end of the world ladies and gentlemen, I'm glad you decided to escort me" Warren said in a slurred manner of speaking, James face shifted to a grimace as he could smell the liquor as soon as he walked up towards the entrance of the building

"You look really good, Warren." Max complemented "Are you alright after today?" Warren just listed from left to right as he rested a hand on Caulfield's shoulder

"I really flipped out on Nathan" Warren slurred reflecting back to what had happened earlier that day "I just hate bullies... And he's dangerous."

"You don't have to tell us twice. Where the hell is he Warren?" James interrogated "I haven't seen him since the incident at the dorm, but I've been in my room all day so.." Warren reported,

"Have you been drinking Graham?" James asked which caught Warren a little off guard but he just chuckled at the question

"Well, if you consider half a beer 'drinking' then yeah.." he said still laughing

"And half a beer is all your going to get tonight, from now until the end of time. You will drink water, got it?" James scolded the younger boy, Warren smiled and gave a salute, or at least tried to, seeing as he could barely raise his arm up past his shoulder before it feels back limply to his side.

"Let's go guys.." Price sighed clearly done with the conversation,

"Hey, hey..." Warren called out "I know this is a bad time, but can I get one picture" he said pulling out a Polaroid camera from inside his pocket "I've been feeling like this could actually be the end of the world, so" He slurred before wrapping his arm around Max and lifting the camera into the sky "I want to have something for prosperity." then he clicked the button, there was a quick flash then a photo printed itself out on the bottom of the device

"We've got no time for this shit. Come on Max" Chloe said in a rushed voice trying to get her friend back in focus whilst walking off towards the entrance of the pool.

Caulfield turned around to face her and the minute she laid eyes on the blue-haired girl her eyes filled with this bizarre happiness "Chloe!" she said ecstatically running towards her and giving her a large hug.

James arched an eyebrow in confusion _"what the fuck is going on right now?"_ he asked himself

"Jesus, dude... what is up with you?" Price asked in equal confusion.

At some point Warren, who had been forgotten and abandoned, simply walked off back into the party "I guess you need to talk. No worries... It's all good." he said to himself as he walked off

"I'm just glad we're here together." Max said in a sigh of relief

"I'm glad you're with me, too. What's going on, Max? We have to find Nathan right now." Price asked walking forwards "He's going to fucking pay for what he did to Rachel... Let's go, now." but Max stopped her in her tracks

"Chloe, wait! Listen!" she pleaded

"I can walk and listen, okay?" Price said attempting to continue her advance

"Stop and listen for once!" Caulfield said putting her arms around her

"Fine, Max. I'm listening." Chloe sighed angrily

"yeah Caulfield. This better be important" James said crossing his arms

"Chloe, you can't go in that party. You're gonna… you're gonna die if you do." Max explained.

The information caused both Price and Makintosh to do a double take

"What what?!" James asked

"You used your powers, right? And you fucked around with time, and I died." Chloe said trying to make sense of what she heard

"Not like that…" Max looked down. James didn't know what to say as he knew nothing of anything the two friends knew of this 'power' although he had seen some oddities concerning Max

"You're supposed to back me up. So there's no way that punk-ass bitch Nathan Prescott is taking me down." Price shook her head

"You're right, he won't. Mark Jefferson killed you... and others." Max said flatly, a tone so matter of point it could rival anything James could say

They both looked at her like she had lost her mind "Jefferson, the art teacher? I don't like the guy either but Nathan is the fucking serial killer! We saw the proof! And we need to find the fucking snake and make sure he never hurts anybody again. Now are you gonna come with us or not" James shook his head and gestured towards the door to the swimming pool

"Nathan is dead... and we're all in danger." Max kept dropping bombshell after bombshell with every word

"That fucker is already dead? How do you know that?" Price asked suspiciously at the statement

"Because... I was there." Caulfield said vaguely

"Could you fucking clarify please?!" James said exasperated,

"Chloe... Jefferson drugged and kidnapped me. I was tied up in his bunker. You have no idea what hell I went through to get back here… but I couldn't let you die. You brought me back here, and I can't lose you again. I won't!" Max explained. James took a second to process the information before picturing the events in his head

"Jesus... thats awful..." he said sympathetically

"Oh... Max. I'm... I'm so sorry... I was the one who dragged you into all this shit... Nobody, especially you, should have to go through that... Now we have to stop Jefferson... with one bullet." Price said sadly before patting the gun she had concealed

"No! Not this way! Chloe, I… I can't keep fixing everything, if all I'm gonna do is just break it, over and over again. I know how this is gonna turn out and... I'm afraid I'm fucking up all these alternate realities." Max shook her head, opposed to the idea proposed by her companion

"Wait... alternate realities? What are you talking about? The fuck did you do? Max? What did you do?" James asked concerned about this girl's mental state that to him, seemed to be rapidly deteriorating before his very eyes

"Chloe, I'm... I'm going to tell you the truth, no matter what. I changed your past and I had to make a terrible choice, and I... I..." Caulfield stumbled to try and say what she wanted to admit

"Max. Please tell me... I won't be mad at you..." Chloe said reassuring the girl

"I was able to go back in time... to the last day William was alive. I stopped him from leaving, but... But you ended up in a car crash instead." Max said sadly, reflecting on events that must have happened to only her and her alone.

The story caused Price to go silent for a minute "You saw my dad again?" she finally asked just as sadly, thinking back to the day when she had to bury William Price

"You... you were completely paralyzed. And you were in pain. You were slowly dying, and you… you asked me to… end your life." Caulfield continued with tear beginning to roll down from her eyes "But Chloe, there was no way I could do that... I had to return to this timeline... to see you again. I had to..."

James felt bad for both of them. He wasn't sure if she was telling the truth or not, or if she was merely insane. But the story clearly caused her great pain, something he could relate to "Jesus... That must have been, awful for you... " he said with a sympathetic tone he didn't know he could use

"I'm so sorry I had to ask you that..." Price apologized for making her friend continue on this sad tale

"It was worse for you. But I had no idea what would happen, and... as usual, I messed everything up, and… I never want to hurt you, ever. You have to believe me." Max said shaking her head and wiping stray tears away

"Of course I do. Do you think I would even know how to handle that situation? Nobody would... The important thing is that we're together again." Price joined in shaking her head

"You're right. That's why you should both come with me so we can stay together... and stay alive." Caulfield agreed, smiling

"I hear you, Max... but do you think we should let Jefferson get away with torture and murder?" James asked concerned, while he was glad the two worked out whatever was clearly eating away at the photography enthusiasts conscious he was more focused on the potential madman sulking around who was apparently the man he had been looking for this whole time

"Of course not! If we tell David, he'll believe us and he can actually stop him... right?" Max looked over offering a solution to that problem immediately. James was skeptical of that idea, he didn't really want to put much faith into David Madsen

"I don't get it... Why do you trust him, after you totally reamed him the other day? He's not even at our house anymore." Chloe said equally as suspicious of the idea

"Chloe, no matter how much of a douche he's been, David truly cares about you." Max turned around to defend her position

"Oh, please... like he cared when he got in your face for smoking a joint?" Price scoffed alluding to an event from the start of the week

"You should have seen his reaction when I told him that Jefferson… killed you. He was crushed." Caulfield said referring to an event that hadn't ever happened yet

"Are you serious? I've seen him show as much emotion as Sherlock over there... except towards my mom." Price asked before pointing to James directly

"Hey! I heard that!" James said taking clear offense to the remark.

* * *

"So what's your plan?" Price asked walking away from the Pool building

"We tell him everything, including that Victoria is in danger." Caulfield said, explaining the details of her plan to stop the killer of Rachel Amber

"Sounds like a good idea, I'll send him some of the evidence we've gathered so he knows that at the least. I am not bullshitting him" James said adding to the plan

"Okay. You've been through so much... I believe you, Max. After all, I'm still your faithful companion." Price nodded

"Yes, you are. So, listen... In a few minutes, I won't know any of this happened... nothing. We absolutely have to stay in your room and do nothing. Then we explain everything to David, and we finally let him do his job. You'll have to tell me exactly what I did and said just now. Just explain that I traveled through time using the photo." Max smiled, then proceeding to instruct them on what to do afterwards

"Will you believe me?" Price asked arching an eyebrow

"I'll always believe you, Chloe." Max said resting a hand on the girl's shoulder as they all proceeded back towards the truck.


	8. Chapter 8: Eye of the Storm

**Beach, Arcadia Bay Oregon, October 11th, 2013, 11:34 AM**

James looked out at the coast as an enormous tornado, he was accompanied by his two companions, Price also watched as the force of nature slowly wormed its way towards the coast, Caulfield had also joined them but seemed to have spaced out, she stared into nothingness "Jesus... Max wasn't lying" Price commented looking out at the ocean. Suddenly Max came to her senses, her eyes regaining their lost humanity as she snapped out of her trance

"Oh! Chloe!" she said ecstatically running up and embracing the older girl

"I see that the real Max is back... So, how was your time trip, dude?" Price asked jokingly

"Yeah, I was afraid you had an aneurysm and went brain dead" James added admitting his genuine concern for her physical and mental state

"Shut up. Oh, you're alive! You're alive, oh... All of us! I did so much to bring you back, Chloe... and it worked. It actually worked. You're with me again." Caulfield shook her head

"It looks like even fate doesn't want us apart. And... you traveled through multiple realities just to... save my ungrateful ass over and over. I hope it was worth it, but... I don't blame you for wanting me out of your life, after all my drama." Price smiled returning the embrace

"Come on. I'm the official Drama King and Queen of Arcadia Bay this week. Just look at what my powers have caused in... just a short time. I mean... I'm nobody." Max rebutted

"Nonsense, you are Max-fucking-Caulfield. You're kind and caring. Nobody could have a better best friend... Nobody. You didn't ask for any of this to happen, but it did." James said, offering words of encouragement "You need to accept how unique you are."

"Maybe I willed it subconsciously, or something. I always wanted my life to be special... an adventure... but not without you. And it didn't happen until I moved back here, so... without you, my powers wouldn't even exist." Caulfield wondered.

James perhaps would have wondered the same thing, but it didn't matter who started what anymore "Then for whatever scientific, mystical reason, that we'll obviously never figure out... We were all meant to be together at this exact moment in history. I have to think that Rachel was somewhere behind the scenes, fighting for justice..." James shook his head,

"I'd like to think that, too... We all owe Rachel Amber. Now tell me everything that happened. You... You two remember, right?" Max smiled and asked what happened after the conversation in the parking lot

"We left the party and made sure Jefferson couldn't find us, I alerted Victoria and David. For once, I was glad Price lived in an actual fortress. Then the storm got Worse and you said we would be safe at the lighthouse" James reported, and Chloe nodded her head, confirming his account.

Then finally Caulfield looked out towards the coastline "Chloe, James, look! The storm is getting bigger now. It's coming closer. I... I can't even believe this is real, this is happening because of me." She said pointing to the encroaching tornado

"Stop it! Stop beating yourself up, okay? We've all paid our dues already on that. The lighthouse is out of the way. Come on!" James said tired of her self deprivation, James then turned around to begin making his way up to the safety of the lighthouse

"Oh... What... Chloe..." Max said weakly before collapsing into Price arms, a slow trickle of blood pouring out of her nose

"I've got your back, Max" Price said, lifting the unconscious girl upwards, James turned back around and grabbed the girl's right arm, wrapping it around his neck. Chloe doing the same with her left

"C'mon We're gonna have to drag her," James said looking up at their refuge from the danger on the ocean.

* * *

 **Lighthouse, Arcadia Bay Oregon, October 11th, 2013, 11:41 AM**

Finally, at the lighthouse James unwrapped the girl's arms around his neck, Price slowly set on the grass "Max? Max, can you hear me? Please, say something." Price pleaded. Finally, Caulfield opened her eyes again and sprung back to life

"Chloe? I... I must have passed out... Sorry." She said holding her head

"Thank God... Don't you ever do that again, okay?" James said shaking his head. The whole time they carried the girl up she would go from being limp and lifeless to thrashing her head around, saying things in her comatose state

"I swear... but that nightmare was so real... was so horrible..." she said mostly to herself Price took her arms and helped her stand on her own two feet once again "This is my storm. I caused this... I caused all of this. I changed fate and destiny so much that... I actually did alter the course of everything. And all I really created was just death and destruction!" She said holding her head in her hands, distraught with her herself

"Fuck all of that, okay? You were given a power. You didn't ask for it... and you saved me. Which had to happen, all of this did..." Price said, trying to talk sense to her friend "Except for what happened to Rachel. But without your power, we wouldn't have found her! Okay, so you're not the goddamn Time Master, but you're Maxine Caulfield... and you're amazing. Max, this is the only way." she then pulled out a Polaroid picture of a butterfly. A similar butterfly that James saw once back at the start of the week

"I feel like I took this shot a thousand years ago." Max said looking at the item

"You... You could use that photo to change everything right back to when you took that picture... All that would take is for me to... to." Price put her head in her hands.

James realized what she had to have been talking about, thinking back to a conversation he and Caulfield had before

" _Chloe went in there to confront him and he. He shot her dead" "That's how I first learned about my power.._ " her voice echoed in his head

" _How many times have events like this happened Max?_ " his voice joined in

" _So far it seems like everyday I've been trying to keep her alive_ " " _It's like the universe wants her dead for some reason_ " James finally came to the conclusion, This storm wasn't caused by some photography student, but because one person in his life continued to live

Chloe Price was meant to die.

The idea rang hollow in his stomach, he hated the idea. He and Chloe had known each other from birth, their fathers were best friends. Chloe Price was his sister. But if it meant saving so many lives in the town, lives that meant just as much to him as hers. Then it was a sacrifice he had to make

"Fuck that! No... no way! You are my number one priority now. You are all that matters to me." Max stomped her foot in protest to the idea

"It's the only sensible one to make Max. Think of all those souls down there, Warren, Kate, Victoria. Those people are just as worthy of life" James said, making his position clear

"I know. You proved that over and over again... even though I don't deserve it. I'm so selfish... not like my mom... Look what she had to give up and live through... and she did. She deserves so much more than to be killed by a storm in a fucking diner. Even my step... father deserves her alive. There's so many more people in Arcadia Bay who should live... way more than me..." Price said, consigned to death, willing to sacrifice herself for the people she cared

"Don't say that... I won't trade you." Max protested tearfully

"You're not trading me. Maybe you've just been delaying my real destiny... Look at how many times I've almost died or actually died around you. Look at what's happened in Arcadia Bay ever since you first saved me. I know I've been selfish, but for once I think I should accept my fate... our fate..." Chloe argued "Max, you finally came back to me this week, and... you did nothing but show me your love and friendship. You made me smile and laugh, like I haven't done in years. Wherever I end up after this... in whatever reality... all those moments between us were real, and they'll always be ours. No matter what you choose, I know you'll make the right decision."

"Chloe... I can't make this choice..." Caulfield sobbed

"No, Max... You're the only one who can." James said shaking his head

"Max... it's time..." Price said holding both her arms. Caulfield pulled away, looking at the photo

"Not. Anymore..." she said before tearing the photo in half and scattering it in the air

" **NO!** " James yelled out as he desperately trying to grab the ripped photo, managing to grab one half. As he stared at it he could feel his heart sink, he looked up at _her_ and for the first time in a long time felt genuine heartbreak

"Goddamn you..." he said softly at first, his voice shaky "God, Damn you! did no one else in that town matter to you?! did I matter to you?!" his voice raised increasingly as he felt a cold fury build up "All those people! Dead!" he didn't hold back any of his words, underneath all of his anger he felt something else bubbling up to the surface. _Betrayal_ "I thought you were my friend..." he said, using a word he hadn't used in ten years, Caulfield said nothing, looking as guilty as she must have felt. "you're a monster. a fucking _monster_... How could you?!" He was going to say something else but nothing came out, he felt something roll down his cheek, he wasn't sure if it was an actual tear or merely a raindrop. He just turned around and began walking away

"James! where are you going?" Price asked concerned for someone she had considered a brother

"Home. Where I belong..." James simply said, continuing to walk

"James wait, please!" Caulfield said, which caused James to snap

" **GO TO HELL!** " he screamed back at the girl, with a haunted, vacant look in his eyes

James said nothing afterward, walking off again. Leaving them alone to watch as the Tornado crept its way into the town, destroying all in its wake.


	9. Chapter 9: Epilouge

**Arcadia Bay Oregon, October 11th, 2013, 2:00 PM**

 ** _Song: Youth, Daughter_**

The sun shined on the ruins of the town, it stood flattened and empty, devoid of the life it housed mere hours ago. All except one soul.

A young man who stood as a sole survivor, soaked to the bone, wearing a tattered and dirty blue hoodie, a letter B that had been sewn onto the left breast had begun to fall off, his jeans were also dirty and covered in small rips, his brown boating shoes caked in a layer of mud. His dark brown hair wind tossed and covered with an occasional twig, his face pale and expressionless. his dulled green eyes dilated in a prolonged stare into nothingness. He said nothing as he slowly walked through the ruins of a town he once called home,

* * *

Blackwell Academy, a once prosperous, prestigious school, was now lying in ruin. its windows were blown out, parts of its roof caved in, and the campus yard was littered with debris and student's artifacts. The Prescott dormitories, the sight of a near tragedy in the week was in a similar state, among the various litter scattered on rain-soaked grass was an old, soaked, ruined. book with the words " ** _Fond Memories_** " was written in ruined, runny, blue ink.

* * *

The man walked along a desolated road, with the same expression on his face as before, shambling aimlessly as if possessed by some haunted phantom, out of the corner of his eye he saw a single pickup truck drive along the road, as it passed he looked at its occupants, two girls stared at him, one wore a dark skull cap with brightly colored blue hair, the other had a freckle spotted face and longer hair, people he once considered as friends. The young man looked at them with a look of intense fury, picking up a rock and hurling it at the truck as it passed by, but missing its target, he looked in the direction of the truck as it sped along the desolate road for a minute, before turning around to continue shambling.

* * *

The remains of the Joseph Higgins Memorial Hospital stood solemnly as one of its occupants had been, a young girl who days prior stood perched atop a roof, ready to end her own life. It is unknown what happened to her since. The parking lot was full of ruined cars and a single Ambulance. Among the wreckage was a golden crucifix, attached to a gold chain necklace, it blew aimlessly in the wind, missing from the neck of the one who wore it

* * *

The sign of the Two Whales Diner stood bent and broken next to the building it once advertised, which was in complete ruin, having been caught in a fire next to an oil tanker outside, all occupants were killed. The day after when the National Guard came to collect bodies, they pulled a young man from the rubble of the diner, his blonde hair dirtied and covered in soot, his eyes were closed but his mouth open, his features were oddly peaceful despite the violent way he died. As they began enclosing him inside a black plastic body bag, they tagged the bag with an identification card, giving him a name. Alexander Louis Hillsef. A student attending Blackwell Academy, struck down in the prime of life.

* * *

The young man walked down another road, surrounded by foliage that had begun to die in the early autumn season, he walked around abandoned cars and climbed over fallen trees and past a dead Hawk, a creature that had been carelessly snuffed of its life as it plummeted to the ground. he then found an unpaved path leading into the woods, turning he made his way up the path with the same pace as he had since the end of the storm.

As he walked up the path he felt his heart sink into depths he didn't know possible until he finally gazed upon the sight that confirmed all of his suspicions. He looked upon what remained of the home he had spent all of his life in, as it had been completely collapsed and anyone who may have been inside would have definitely killed. Thats when he realized he had nothing left, his town, destroyed. His home, gone. His friends, betraying him and or dying. And as all this became clear to him, he felt his legs buckle beneath him, sending down onto his knees. And as he fell he felt the uncontrollable urge to finally make a sound

and so James Emmerich Makintosh let out a loud, mournful, tear-filled, scream that pierced the silence like a bullet, letting out ten long years of pain and anguish. And he finally allowed himself to weep for what he had lost. **_Everything_**


End file.
